United Voice News
A major function of unions is to provide advice to members.
Unions give advice on whether members should vote in favour or against a proposed enterprise bargaining agreement. Union officials give advice to members on whether or not the time is right to take industrial action. They provide advice to members on how to handle a problem in the workplace.
So it’s our responsibility to provide important advice on major decisions members face all the time. Right now members face a major decision about what their rights in the workplace will be; the future they want for their kids, about the kind of community they want to live in.
And whatever your personal views are, whatever you think about all the parties on offer, unions simply have no basis to advise members to support the LNP. Quite simply, because of their approach to workplace matters, their policies on childcare, education, contracting and health, the LNP aren’t an option. Union members can’t risk Tony Abbott.
Union members can’t risk Tony Abbott. In his own words -
"As far as I'm concerned, I have no plans for any change to the laws, not now, not next year, not the year after, not ever."
Source: ABC Interview Monday July 19 2010
"Obviously I can't say that there will never, ever, ever,….be any change to any aspect of industrial legislation.”
Source: 3AW Interview, Monday July 19 2010, an hour after the above ABC interview.
Australians would be familiar with these guarantees:
"Suggestions I have left open the possibility of a GST are completely wrong. A GST or anything resembling it is no longer Coalition policy. Nor will it be policy at any time in the future. It is completely off the political agenda in Australia. There's no way a GST will ever be part of our policy."
Q: "Never ever?" Howard: "Never ever. It's dead. It was killed by voters at the last election."
Source: John Howard interview, Tweed Heads Civic Centre, 2 May 1995
But back to Mr Abbott and his backflip:
“So WorkChoices is well and truly dead but there are some aspects, many aspects of the Howard government policies, until WorkChoices went too far, that we do need to keep.”
Source: AAP, 14 December 2009
“The Howard Government’s industrial legislation, it was good for wages, it was good for jobs, and it was good for workers. And let’s never forget that.”
Source: Parliament House interview, 19 March 2008
“Let me begin my contribution to this debate by reminding members that workplace reform was one of the greatest achievements of the Howard government.”
Source: House of Representatives, HANSARD, 13 August 2009
“You know, at four elections running we had a mandate to take the unfair dismissal monkey off the back of small business and we will once more seek that mandate.”
Source: Speech, Queensland Chamber of Commerce, February 2010
New federal Liberal leader Tony Abbott has not ruled out changes to Australia’s industrial relations landscape if he wins power next election. When asked if new Liberal policy would include seeking to re-introduce aspects of the previous Howard government’s WorkChoices regime, which had been rolled back by the Kevin Rudd government, Mr Abbott said Australia needed a “free and flexible economy.”
Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 1 December 2009
But his Workplace Relations Spokesman Eric Abetz says he cannot rule out making ministerial directions or changes to the regulations. "We would only be tweaking," he said. "It would be very brave to say you would never have to tweak a regulation or make a ministerial direction.”
Source: ABC July 17 2010
“Senator Abetz vowed that a Coalition government would not reintroduce Work Choices, but he suggested Labor's Fair Work Act could be tweaked to sideline unions.”
Source: news.ninemsn.com.au 20 May 2010
In a media statement released by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Thursday 22 July 2010 "Liberals can do much more than 'tweak' Fair Work laws and can't be trusted." For more information please visit: http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/LiberalscandomuchmorethantweakFairWorklawsandcantbetrusted.aspx
